Even before he graduated from high school, Danny Hernandez was well acquainted with Sul Ross State University.

Beginning with summer employment, he spent more than 33 years as a groundskeeper and will retire Jan. 31. He began working full-time in 1979.

A public reception will be held Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2 p.m. on the second floor foyer of the Morgan University Center. Hernandez will be honored with Brian Larremore, retiring Sul Ross police office.

"I worked part-time during the summer, then started full-time right out of high school," Hernandez said.

Over the decades of his employment, work methods have changed considerably. "We used to pick up trash in five-gallon cans, carry it to a dump truck and after the truck was full, haul it to the dump," he said.

"We used to water the grass without the sprinkler system by dragging hoses everywhere. We would carry pipes and spread them around to water the big areas, like the football field."

Hernandez worked with pick and shovel to help install the present sprinkler system.

"Little by little, things started changing," he said. "We hauled away a lot of the old buildings."

In addition to witnessing well over $100 million in new and renovated facilities, Hernandez has also worked under four presidents: C.R. Richardson, Jack Humphries, R. Vic Morgan and Ricardo Maestas.

"I’ve seen a bunch of kids graduate (from Sul Ross)," he said. "Some of them come back years later and ask me if I’m still here. I just laugh and tell them I’m working on my master’s degree."

"It has been nice working with the people around here."

Retirement does not mean inactivity. Hernandez plans to stay busy with ranch work, yard work and helping a friend in a mobile home moving business.

He also works with horses and is presently teaching two of his children to ride. He is also a frequent spectator, as daughter, Margarita, 11, plays on a traveling softball team and twin sons Danny, Jr. and Salvador, 14, are active in athletics. He and his wife, Maria Elizabeth, have another son, Sergio Cobos, 24, and his wife Melissa, and one granddaughter, Evangelina.

Other plans include spending time with his siblings, Salvador, George, Debra, Dena, Ruth, Bridget, Yolanda and Lalo, all of Alpine; Cynthia, Odessa; and John, Fort Worth, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Retirement does not mean sleeping late, either.

"I still get up every morning and make breakfast for my kids," Hernandez said.

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SUL ROSS BENEFACTOR EMMETT MCCOY DIES

Emmett McCoy, who with his wife, Miriam, made the largest single gift to Sul Ross State University, died Saturday (Jan. 7) at a Luling hospital. He was 88.

The McCoys donated $1.2 million to the Museum of the Big Bend renovation and relocation project in 2003, the largest single gift in Sul Ross history. The completed building now bears the McCoys’ names. In addition, a $100,000 gift from the McCoy Foundation in 2002 helped to lift off the $4.4 million fund-raising campaign.

"Emmett McCoy was a great friend to the Museum of the Big Bend," said retired director Larry Francell, who oversaw the entire renovation process. "In fact, without his interest, especially in the unique ceiling in the building, the project may not have happened. He was a most generous man and will be missed."

Sul Ross President Dr. Ricardo Maestas said, "Since I first stepped on this campus, I have been impressed by its beautiful appearance. The Museum of the Big Bend is one of the university’s jewels and we are indebted to Emmett and Miriam McCoy for their major contributions to its renovation."

Emmett Francis McCoy was born in Houston on Feb. 27, 1923, the son of Frank and Margaret (Drees) McCoy. He moved with his family to Galveston in 1927, the same year his father founded McCoy Roofing Co.

Emmett McCoy was active in Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, and was a member of ROTC in high school. After graduation, he attended and graduated from New York Trade School. He worked in the shipyards in Orange, Texas at the beginning of World War II and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943. He served in an Engineer Aviation Battalion in the Pacific Theater and was discharged in January 1946.

He married Miriam Swanson on Feb. 23, 1946 in upstate New York and the couple moved to Texas. He founded McCoy Supply Co. in the 1950s, which later became the present-day McCoy’s Building Supply. At the time of his retirement in 1997, McCoy’s had grown to over 90 locations with sales exceeding $400 million. Today, the company has over 1,600 employees and 83 store locations, including one in Alpine, spread over Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi. Two door manufacturing facilities are located in New Braunfels and McAllen. He also founded McCoy Land and Cattle Co. near Fort Davis.

With the addition of granddaughter Meagan Jones to the company in 2006 as field support director, later promoted to vice president, McCoy’s is now in its fourth generation of family leadership. Jones is the daughter of Brian McCoy, the company president and CEO.

Emmett and Miriam McCoy moved to San Marcos in 1972 and relocated company headquarters there. The couple’s widespread philanthropy included the largest-ever gift to Texas State University, a $20 million donation to enhance business programs. Emmett and Miriam McCoy Hall was dedicated in 2006 in their honor and the couple was awarded honorary degrees in 2007.

He is survived by his wife; daughter Brenda McCoy Remme and husband Kaare; son Michael Emmett McCoy and wife Myra; Brian Francis McCoy and wife Wetonnah; daughter in law Cindy Cox McCoy; nine grandchildren and spouses; and 18 (soon to be 21) great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Dennis Patrick McCoy and grandson, Keith Evan Remme.

A public memorial service will be held Monday, Jan. 30, 1:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Conference Center, Embassy Suites Hotel, 1001 East McCarty Lane, San Marcos.

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JAN. 18 RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR BRIAN LARREMORE

Retirement will find Brian Larremore heading back to the ranch.

Larremore, a police officer for the University Department of Public Safety, will retire Jan. 31 from Sul Ross State University after 21 years’ service.

He will be honored at a public reception Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2 p.m. on the second floor foyer of the Morgan University Center. Larremore will be recognized with Danny Hernandez, a Sul Ross groundskeeper, who is retiring after 33 years’ service.

A 1968 Sul Ross graduate, Larremore taught English in the Van Horn Independent School District for one year before returning home to ranch for the next 15.

Three years of managing a 115-section ranch in New Mexico followed, then six months on the Gage-Holland Ranch.

Later, he earned his law enforcement certification from the Sul Ross Law Enforcement Academy and worked three years as a Brewster County deputy sheriff in Marathon. He also ranched north of Marathon.

In 1991, "I hurt my back and couldn’t put my saddle on my horse and I came to work for Sul Ross," Larremore said.

During his Sul Ross career, he has worked for three chiefs and five lieutenants at UDPS. He has received the Bar-SR-Bar Award for employee excellence.

Most of all, he has enjoyed his interaction with the students.

"I really like the students," he said. "I have enjoyed working with the kids and helping them to stay out of trouble."

Retirement will mean a return to ranching, day working and more time in the saddle.

But probably not breaking horses.

"I think I’ve broke my last two," Larremore laughed.

He does plan to pursue his hobbies of painting, sculpting and wood carving, as well as training dogs.

He and his wife, Jean, have one son, Jim, who lives in Marathon. Jim and his wife have three children, Justin, Bailey and Cole.